Despite lack­lus­ter sup­port here on the South Coast, the tax equity mea­sures passed by almost 9 points

Cam­paign ads by sup­port­ers high­lighted banks and credit card com­pa­nies and showed images of well-dressed peo­ple step­ping off pri­vate jets. They also ham­mered on the $10 min­i­mum tax that most cor­po­ra­tions have paid since its incep­tion in 1931.

Those mes­sages helped counter warn­ings by oppo­nents that the taxes would lead to job losses, wors­en­ing the state’s 11 per­cent unem­ploy­ment rate, and prompt wealthy res­i­dents to move elsewhere.

“They did a great job of pound­ing, ‘It’s only $10,’” said Bob Tier­nan, chair­man of the state Repub­li­can Party. “We got swamped by the union money.”

Sup­port­ers spent at least $6.9 mil­lion, most of it com­ing from teacher and pub­lic employee unions. Oppo­nents, led by a coali­tion of busi­ness orga­ni­za­tions, spent at least $4.6 mil­lion, donated by wealthy entre­pre­neurs such as Nike’s Phil Knight and Colum­bia Sportswear’s Tim Boyle. Oppo­nents who gath­ered at the Grand Hotel in Salem were opti­mistic early, but as the results came in, the mood quickly darkened.

For a county by county analy­sis, look here